Timing Is Everything: A Look At The

Executive Presidency
| by Ven. Dr. Agamaha Pandita Walpola Piyananda
Chief Sangha Nayaka of America
( November 15, 2014, California, Sri Lanka Guardian ) There has been a great deal of
discussion in Sri Lanka recently about abolishing the Executive Presidency. When the
new constitution was adopted during the presidency of J. R. Jayawardane, it created
the Provincial System of governance and the position of the Executive President; both
have their inherent merits and flaws, many of which have been revealed as we have
lived with the new system over time. Most people agree that many aspects of our
current system need to be reviewed and ultimately fixed, but I contend that the fixing
can only be done at the right time. This is simply the way life works: to attempt a fix at
the wrong time even if it is for the right reasons will only produce wrong results.

From my perspective I can point out three very critical reasons why this is not the right
time to abolish the Executive Presidency.7
The first reason is that Sri Lanka has not yet reached a point of full stability since the

LTTE terrorists were defeated in 2009. We are on the right path in terms of reunifying
the country; we are on the right path in terms of rebuilding our economy; we are on
the right path in terms of rebuilding and modernizing our countrys infrastructure; and
we are on the right path in terms of growing into an era of personal freedom and
opportunity for all citizens. Being on the right path, however, does not mean that we
are not still in a very fragile place on this path. At this crucial moment in our countrys
evolution we need a strong leader that can unify all of the elements at play in our very
unique rebuilding process; to take away the strong leadership provided by the
Executive Presidency will only make us more vulnerable to all hosts of negative
influences both internal, and from abroad. Dont forget that only the Executive
President can say no, much in the same way the President of the United States can
exercise his veto powers when deemed necessary.
The second reason that this is not the right time to abolish the Executive Presidency is
that the both the TNA and the Muslim Congress are not yet willing to commit fully to
our one country/one nation policy. Both of these political entities still wish to create
separate ethnic states or districts or countries-within-countries, which will completely
undermine the progress we have made towards national unity in the last eight years.
Until these ethnically-identified entities are willing to put aside their ethnic egos, with
their ethno-centric, separatist demands for land of their own, we are not in any
position to relieve ourselves of the unifying element of the Executive Presidency. The
last thing we need in Sri Lanka right now is another separatist movement for
independence. Such a move was recently defeated in Scotland, and it seems that the
Catalans will remain with Spain, and the people of Quebec will still have to call
themselves Canadians. In an age of globalization, the idea of carving up big countries
to create lots of small ones seems absurd; it is certainly not the trend, if we are to
observe the debacle in the Ukraine. If anything, we need to strengthen our global
alliances in all directions, but we can only do this if we remain strong as one united Sri
Lanka and at least for now, united behind our Executive President.
The third reason we need to keep the Executive Presidency at least for this moment
in time is to protect our land from foreign interference, a recurring problem we have
dealt with for centuries; one that we should never forget or underestimate. It is only a
strong, competent, and diplomatic leader that can stand up to threatening overseas
powers and navigate the treacherous waters of hidden agendas and grand foreign
designs that have plagued us for many generations. A weakened Head of State would
make us vulnerable to any country that takes a liking to us, and there are many reasons
to like us or want to dominate us.
There is a movement afoot that is being led by two Sangha members. They hope to
create a coalition of many disparate political parties that would introduce a so-called

Common Candidate who could run against our current president in the upcoming
elections. A strong national leader among the coalition parties that have joined forces
has not yet emerged, and I cant possibly think of a name that could rally the country to
a popular majority. At any rate, even if the Common Candidate won the election, that
unfortunate individual would still face a two-thirds majority against him or her in
Parliament. A situation like this does not make a strong leader; it only guarantees his
or her failure at home, and on the international scene as well.
I feel obliged to point out here that there are certain elements in our current
constitution that need to be changed. The most prominent one that comes to my mind
is the system of provincial parliamentary elections, which was established in Mr.
Jayawardanes constitution. This is a system that has each partys candidates come
from at large in each Province instead of having each candidate represent a smaller
electoral district. This very flawed system sets the stage for corruption, party infighting, negative campaigning, fiscal waste, and a situation that prevails of may the
richest man win. I would truly like this changed back to the way it was before, where
the smaller electoral districts elect the candidate that truly represents the needs and
desires of the people that live in those smaller districts. A candidate from an electoral
district of 35,000 people, for example, should not be expected to compete for the votes
of an entire Province of 1 million people. This is a tempting recipe that leads to
disaster, and we are experiencing this disaster today.
There are other parts of our current constitution that stand revisiting, and possibly
revising. The best and most responsible way to do this is for all of the parties
concerned to bring their views to the central government, make their case in
Parliament, and come up with better solutions that work for the good of all citizens
on every level. I stand fully behind constitutional reform, because I realize that rules
were made for a particular time and for particular reasons that were relevant to that
time. Rules, realistically, were made to serve people, and were meant to be examined
and changed when they have served their purpose and might be out of date.
The Buddha talked a lot about timing in his Discourses. Even the Eightfold Path
element of Right Speech emphasizes this important point. The Buddhas explanation
of Dependent Origination clearly outlines how conditions need to arise and others
pass away before anything comes into being (or stops being). In an impermanent
universe where the only constant is change, for anything to work successfully it has to
arise and come into being at the right place at the right time. The Executive Presidency
has arisen for our time, and it is useful for the conditions of our time. When it is no
longer useful, and the conditions of today have passed away into the conditions of the
future, then it can be changed or even abolished, if it is appropriate for that time.

Until then, we need to work within our laws to keep our country together as one, and
steady on its path of progress. Lets not jump the gun and abolish something that has
brought us from the jaws of civil war to the gates of safety, prosperity, and freedom.
My view is that only time and the conditions of time can dictate if or when the
Executive Presidency will cease to be.
Posted by Thavam